1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to intraoral dental radiographic film packets, and particularly to an improvement therein that renders them more comfortable for the patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with dental film packets of the type referred to above. Examples may be found in the following documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,631,497--Discloses a dental x-ray film package comprising superposed sensitized and protective sheets and a soft, pliable beading that embraces their edges to hold the sheets together and to render the package more comfortable in use; the beading may be of molded rubber or a stretched rubber band cemented in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,093--Discloses a dental x-ray film package comprising sensitized and protective sheets superposed within a readily openable sealed envelope of substantially uniform overall thickness.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,216--Discloses a resiliant pad (made of foamed ethylene vinyl acetate) that is folded over, and adhered to, one edge and two corners of a dental x-ray film packet, to enhance comfort and to facilitate positioning in the patient's mouth.
While such film packages and associated pads may have sufficed for their respective purposes, there has remained a persistant need for a dental film packet improvement that would efficiently render the packet markedly more comfortable when operatively positioned inside a patient's mouth. This need has long existed, especially for the particular type of film packet disclosed in the cited U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,093. The squared-off edge defining the perimeter of that packet has been a continuing cause of considerable discomfort for some patients whenever that edge has been pressed into sensitive tissues of the mouth.
A common approach to cushioning that edge has been to attach a soft pad around it, as disclosed, for example, in the cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,216. One drawback to adding a cushioning pad has been the resulting increase in overall film package size, which may make it difficult to position the package correctly in the patient's mouth, and may cause stacking and gating problems when loaded into commonly used film packet dispensing devices. Another drawback of the typical cushioning pad has been that the open-cell, or foamed, material used therein to enhance its cushioning effect absorbs patient saliva, which may be contaminated with contagious viruses.
Although dental x-ray film packets of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,093 have been widely used for more than twenty years, the long-recognized need to ameliorate discomfort in some patients, in a practical and efficient manner, without adversely increasing overall film packet size, and without using highly porous, saliva-absorbing materials, has not been met until the advent of this invention.